Preview: Middlesbrough v Bolton Wanderers

Bolton Wanderers take on Middlesbrough this Wednesday in the Sky Bet Championship at the Riverside Stadium. With that said, bwfc.co.uk have picked out five talking point ahead of the fixture.

1. A game to remember

Looking back into the history of this fixture and bwfc.co.uk are taking you back to April 19, 2008.

Current Wanderers captain David Wheater was starting for the opposing side this day, with fellow current Whites defender Jonathan Grounds named on the substitutes for Boro.

With the Teessiders peppering Ali Al-Habsi’s goal for the majority of the first half, the second period brought a different story to the table.

Just after the hour mark, a corner was whipped into the area and Gary Cahill was left unmarked only yards from goal.

But then, after the defender’s effort was saved initially, Gavin McCann followed to poke the ball into the net to secure three points for Gary Megson’s team.

To see the goal, click on the link below:

2. New faces

Since the last time we faced the team from the North-East, there have been some notable arrivals at the club.

A defensive duo of Aden Flint and Paddy McNair were the first to be brought in by Tony Pulis on July 1.

Coming in from Bristol City, Flint comes off the back of one his most impressive seasons as a professional footballer from a goals perspective.

He managed nine goals from centre back in 46 games, which included a goal against Premier League champions Manchester City in the Carabao Cup.

Joining from regional rivals Sunderland, Northern Ireland international McNair also had a fruitful campaign in front of goal last season for the Black Cats, with five goals in 16 Championship games.

As well as this, McNair has featured in six games for Boro so far this campaign.

Looking into the midfield and George Saville was brought in from Millwall on an initial loan, with a permanent deal being made in January for the Northern Ireland international.

A Chelsea youth graduate, Saville is no stranger to this division. Prior to his move to the Riverside, the tenacious midfielder applied his trade at Wolverhampton Wanderers as well as the aforementioned Millwall.

In the striking department, Jordan Hugill joined on loan from West Ham United for the 2018/19 campaign.

A Middlesbrough native, Hugill’s rise in football was most notable during his spell at Preston North End from 2014 to 2018.

With just over 100 appearances in the league and 23 goals to go with it, frontman Hugill earned himself a move to the Hammers in January 2018 for a reported £8 million.

3. Undefeated on the road

Wanderers come into this fixture on the back of an impressive away record since the start of the 2018/19 Sky Bet Championship season.

With games against West Bromwich Albion, Reading and neighbours Preston North End behind them, Phil Parkinson’s men are still unbeaten away from home in the league.

Taking seven points from a possible 12 on their travels, the Whites have the opportunity to keep this run going when they take on Middlesbrough on Wednesday evening.

4. Opponent’s current form

Currently, Middlesbrough sit in fourth place in the Sky Bet Championship on 14 points.

They started the campaign off in sizzling fashion, finishing unbeaten for the entire month of August and took maximum points from four of their six league games in that month.

However, since the international break, Tony Pulis’s men suffered a 1-0 loss to Norwich City, with Teemu Pukki scoring the goal that brought an end to Boro’s great start.

5. Pay on the day is available

Wanderers’ supporters will be able to buy tickets from the Away Ticket Office, at the Riverside Stadium, on Wednesday night.

Tickets can be purchased on a cash only basis from 7pm onwards. There is no increase in ticket prices on the night.

Advanced sales from Bolton Wanderers are still available via the phone lines & in person at Bolton Central until 10am on Wednesday 19 September, after which time, no sales or refunds can be processed.

Twenty minutes into the game and Boro had shouts for a penalty, with a Jonny Howson through ball finding Jordan Hugill.

The local lad went down in the area, but referee David Coote waved protests from the home side.

George Friend got the better of Joe Williams down the left shortly after that, but his cross was blocked well by skipper David Wheater.

Boro’s Howson went for goal himself on the 25 minute mark, with a driven effort from distance never troubling Ben Alnwick.

Jack Hobbs was forced off just after the half hour mark with a head injury, replaced by Marc Wilson at the back.

Boro took the lead soon after, as a Gary O’Neil pass deflected off Mark Beevers into the path of George Saville, who curled the ball into the back of the Wanderers’ net.

Ryan Shotton nearly doubled the deficit for the Whites minutes later, but his narrow effort was saved well by Alnwick at his near post.

Tony Pulis’ side were banging down the Wanderers’ door with five minutes to go in the first half, with a Martin Braithwaite strike flying inches over the crossbar.

Second Half

As the second phase began, Boro picked up from where they left off as an Adam Clayton half volley went narrowly wide of the mark three minutes into the restart.

Former Boro left back Jonathan Grounds nearly had Wanderers back into the game, when a Pawel Olkowski darting run on the opposing flank caused the ball to fall to Grounds.

From the edge of the area, the full-back’s curved shot was just off target.

Just under an hour gone Olkowski was causing problems down the right hand side for Bolton, producing a floated cross into the area for Josh Magennis to an overhead kick on goal.

However, the Northern Irishman’s acrobatics came to no avail.

The home side had the ball in the back of the net on the hour, with George Friend darting the ball across goal, hitting the post with Aden Flint following up to tap it in.

But, Flint was adjudged to be offside and the goal was ruled out.

Bolton put together a lovely flowing move down the left flank with twenty minutes to go, as Willliams and Grounds linking up, to provide a cross-field pass to Magennis, whose shot was blocked by George Saville.

Ten minutes left on the clock and second half substitute Britt Assombalonga nearly made it two, as the ball fell to him from eight yards, before a David Wheater last ditch block stopped the striker from scoring.

From the resulting corner, Aden Flint rose highest of them all, powering down a header which just missed the far post.

As the match headed into added time, Wanderers had the lion share of the possession in that period, but were caught on the break as Britt Assombalonga was allowed to be through one-on-one with Ben Alnwick.

The striker made no mistake, as he calmly placed the ball low to the right to seal all three points for Middlesbrough.